A PENSIONER has been left heartbroken after burglars ransacked her home and scared off her beloved pet cat.

Hilda Leigh, of Wanstead, came home from lunch with a friend to discover her back door had been kicked in, with hundreds of pounds worth of cash and jewellery missing, along with her beloved moggie Penny.

She said: “The whole place looked like a bomb had hit it. I had some beautiful jewellery but it’s all gone.

"Everything they didn’t take they smashed up and broke. It just made me feel so terrible.

"I’ve had Penny for over 10 years. I’m upset about everything I lost but in a way she was the best piece of jewellery I ever had.

“Penny always used to sit by the kitchen door every day but after it was smashed she hasn’t been back.

“I hope she is still out there and someone’s feeding her.”

The cat did briefly return home two weeks later, but swiftly vanished again, leaving Ms Leigh to conclude it must have been traumatised by the raid and is too scared to come back.

The burglary happened at lunchtime on Friday March 13. Ms Leigh does not believe the date was a coincidence.

“I’m a superstitious person so I’m not surprised it happened then,” she added.

The incident is one of an increasing number of burglaries in Wanstead, which both the police and council have previously partly attributed to Britain’s worsening economy.

The latest statistics from the Metropolitan police show that in Snaresbrook ward there were five burglaires reported in January, nine in February and 15 in March.

In Wanstead ward, January saw seven cases, dropping to five in February but then rising again to 10 in March.

Penny is a black and white cat, aged around 10 years. She does not have a collar to identify her. If you think you have seen her you can contact Ms Leigh via the Guardian on 8498 3437 or email dbinns@london.newsquest.co.uk